The company says the reusable space vehicle was carried by airplane to 46,000 feet (14,020 meters) on Friday and then released. The craft then used its rocket motor to reach its highest altitude to date.

SpaceShipTwo and its two-member crew then glided to a safe landing in the desert north of Los Angeles.

Virgin Galactic says the ten-minute test flight moves the company closer to its goal of flying paying passengers into space.

No date has been set for the first commercial flight but hundreds of would-be tourists have made down payments for the chance to fly.